


All That Matters

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Bodyswap, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-04 21:31:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6676138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo wishes that he found it easier to talk to people. Bruno wishes that people would want to talk to him about something other than his uncle. Fate finds a solution, but it's not quite that simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All That Matters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writtenfripperies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenfripperies/gifts).



"What was your uncle like?"

"Would your uncle have liked Formula E?"

"How does it feel to be carrying on the Senna name?"

Bruno wasn't sure how he end up trapped in this nightmarish vision of his own life, where people seemed more interested in his uncle, in his surname, than him. There were times when he thought it would have been easier to race in his father's name, but it wouldn't have taken long for the media to put it all together, and then he'd have had to face questions about why he didn't use the Senna name.

And worst of all, when people thought he wasn't listening, he heard them say things like – "He's nowhere near as talented," and, "It seems like the name is all he got from his uncle."

Which hurt more than he could ever describe. He knew that his time in Formula One was largely unforgettable, that he never had the car to fight for podiums, never mind championships. But he was forging his own way, and although he'd never go down in the history books as anything other than Ayrton Senna's nephew, he was happy with what he'd achieved.

By the time that he got back to his home he was exhausted by all the questions. As he got ready for bed he looked at his reflection in the mirror and wondered if life would be easier if he looked different, if there wasn't the striking family resemblance. Bruno curled up to read, his mind distracted as it wondered what it would be like to be someone else, to not have the Senna name, to fly under the radar.

***

Jo was sitting across from a woman, a friend of his sister's, waiting for food to arrive so that at least it would break the silence. He'd been trying to keep the conversation going but he didn't know anything about horses, not really, and he'd had to force himself not to talk about cars, or aerodynamics, or the Venturi effect. All of which had seen previous dates complaining to his sisters that he was _boring_.

"So who are you going to be rooting for this weekend?" Jo hoped that this would at least get the conversation going again, since the service here seemed to be slow, although when he glanced at his watch again only two minutes had passed, so it was time that was taunting him rather than the waiter.

"Jenson."

Jo sighed, at least she hadn't said Kevin, he wasn't sure he could take that. It had taken everything that he'd got to stay equal to him, and yet everyone still said that he was nothing more than a pay driver. It would have hurt, if he hadn't got used to it over the years.

"I think they'd be doing better if they'd let Stoffel drive the car." Unpopular opinion, but having seen his times in testing and that he had McLaren's only points for the season, painfully accurate. Although he was sure this wasn't the topic of conversation his sisters wanted him talking about on a date.

"He wouldn't be better than two world champions."

Jo sighed, he should just nod and agree and let the issue drop, but it wasn't in his nature. He could feel his jaw clench as he went to speak, at this rate he was deliberately sabotaging his date, but did he want to be with someone who supported Jenson? Nope.

"Actually, I don't think either Jenson or Fernando has another world championship in them. If they were truly interested in winning again they would be helping McLaren develop rather than whinging and complaining. So, in that respect, I have no doubt that Stoffel would do a better job, not just on track, but with the overall development of the car. And, given his age he would be a likely candidate for racing with them in five years' time when they are actually in a position to win championships." Jo took a deep breath, and he saw the look of disgust on his date's face.

Just as he was thinking about leaving the money and running, the food arrived and forced him to spend twenty minutes eating in silence while his date glared at him. She was texting away on her phone as she ate, no doubt complaining to his sister that he was boring, and wondering why she'd let herself be talked into this.

Although Jo knew why they all agreed to go on a date with him, money. If it wasn't for that he was sure that he'd be single, not that he really minded, he had his racing and that was enough for him. Relationships just seemed like an unnecessary complication.

His date spared him the awkwardness of a goodbye, she went to the bathroom and never returned, leaving him to pay and slink back to his hotel.

*

Will was standing outside his door, and he shrugged as way of apology. This meant that everyone already knew that his date was a disaster, although maybe this would be the final time that his sisters try and set him up on a date.

"So, what did you do this time?" Will looked at him with pity and Jo rolled his eyes as he opened the door, hoping that he'd be able to get some peace.

"Nothing."

"Really?" Will raised an eyebrow as he put the kettle on, at least he was making himself useful.

"She supports Jenson." Jo was done talking. He slunk off to the bathroom to get changed, pulling on his pyjamas from where he'd slung them over the towel rack this morning.

Will was sitting on the bed, two cups of tea sitting on the little table and Jo smiled, at least he had his family around to support him. Even if they were the ones that caused some of this pain.

"Dad was going to come but I said I'd check on you." Will handed him the cup of tea, and just having the warmth in his hands made him feel a little better.

"Thanks. I can't bear to hear the words, 'you can tell me if you're gay'. Again." Jo laughed, although he'd spent a chunk of his early twenties wondering if he was gay, before realising that being awkward around women was just that, it said nothing about his sexuality, and he was actually awkward around everyone, but dating seemed to bring it all to the surface with horrific results.

He was acutely aware that being twenty-five and having no idea if he was straight or gay was probably quite unusual, although with his lack of dating experience it wasn't a surprise. In fact, he'd only ever kissed one person, Marcus, and Jo had no idea what that said about his sexuality.

"It wouldn't make you any better at dating." Will laughed, and only the fact that they were both holding a cup of tea stopped Jo from nudging him, that was the last thing he needed, to sleep in a wet bed.

"I think I should just focus on racing for now. Stick to what I'm good at." He didn't mean to sound pitiful, but it came out sounding that way. "Are you going to stay here? The alarm's set for six."

"Six? In the morning?"

"Yes. I have to train before all the media commitments and then I've got to do the Amber Lounge fashion show because apparently I haven't suffered enough this weekend."

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do tomorrow."

Jo switched the lights out and heard Will softly snoring as he wondered what it would be like to be good with people. To have them think that he was nice, rather than boring. In fact, what it would be like to have people just want to talk to you.

***

Bruno woke up and he reached out for his glasses, but there was nothing on the bedside table apart from a cup. He blinked a few times and realised that he could see without them. Had he slept in his contact lenses again?

He was considering going back to sleep when he felt someone move next to him and he froze, not wanting to move in case it disturbed them. When he was sure that they were asleep he slunk out of the bed and crept to the bathroom. He had a good look at the guy that was in bed with him, he looked vaguely familiar.

Had he slept with a fan? He looked so young, and he couldn't remember what the age of consent was here. Should he wake him and ask? Was it too late to be asking those questions? And his girlfriend, she wouldn't be pleased at all. But he had clothes on, although they weren't his clothes, so what had happened?

He sat on the edge of the bath, his head in his hands while he tried to figure out what was going on. Bruno ran his tongue over his teeth, they were fuzzy and he went to brush them when he saw what was wrong.

The reflection staring back at him wasn't his own. He'd ended up in Jolyon Palmer's body.

Was this a crazy dream? He was meant to be interviewing him today. Had his mind taken all the information and made it into a bizarre dream?

"Jo, are you going to be long? I need to pee."

Bruno froze, if this was a dream it was getting crazier by the second. He wasn't sure what to say, or whose voice would come out of his mouth.

Will burst in, and Bruno was sure that this wasn't a dream, that he was really in someone else's body. He tried not to listen as he wondered what on earth was going on, and how he could put everything back to normal.

***

Jo woke up and everything looked fuzzy, he rubbed at his eyes but it didn't seem to help so he stumbled towards the bathroom. He hoped that washing his face would make everything better but his vision was still blurry and his face felt strange. Was he getting sick? Or was this just some crazy nightmare brought on by stress?

He decided to go back to bed, get a little more sleep. His alarm hadn't gone off yet, so he still had time to doze, maybe he just needed a little more sleep.

Jo carefully got into bed, not wanting to wake Will when he knocked something onto the floor. He picked up a book, and a pair of glasses. Without thinking he put the glasses on and everything came into focus. Including the fact that he was alone in the room, it wasn't his room, and the reason his body felt strange, was because it wasn't his body.

He ran back through to the bathroom, staring at his reflection as though it was a cruel joke. He felt at his face, hoping that it would prove to be some sort of fake but it wasn't.

He was in Bruno Senna's body.

*

Jo got dressed, glad that he could see everything now that he had found Bruno's glasses, and luckily the keys to the flat were sitting in a bowl by the front door. He grabbed them before heading out into the early morning light, dancing as it glinted on the water.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say, or if Bruno would be in his body, but at least Will would be there, and although he was sure that med school probably didn't cover this, Will would be able to reassure him.

Jo knocked on the door but there was no answer, he thought about trying to get a key from reception but what would he tell them? Short of pretending that they were lovers there wasn't an excuse he could think of that would see them handing over the key to Bruno.

He wondered who he could call that wouldn't think it was all a cruel joke, and he realised that the list of people that he called friend was really just a list of one – Marcus. And the odds are that he would think it was all a crazy dream.

So, with a sigh, he walked towards the track, Bruno's ID around his neck, and he hoped that this would work itself out before serious damage was done.

***

"You better get ready if you're going to train this morning." Will looked at him before pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes." Bruno breathed a sigh of relief when his voice came out sounding like Jo's, at least he could convincingly play the part until whatever craziness that had caused this undid itself.

"Come on then, Alex said he'd meet us at the track." Will handed Bruno a pair of trainers and he put them on, not sure of who Alex was or why they were meeting him, or her?

The walk down to the track was nice and Will chatted away about uni as Bruno tried to make little noises to show that he was listening, even though he wasn't sure what Will had told him, _Jo_ , already.

Running around the track in circles was strangely therapeutic, allowed him to clear his mind while it reeled with all the implications of his current situation. The burn in his muscles as the lactic acid built up gave him something to focus on, to take his mind off it all.

As he finished stretching all the worries came flooding back and he slumped down against the barrier when Will came wandering across with a bottle of water.

"Talk to me." Will sat next to him, looking much older than his teenage years. He placed a hand on Bruno's knee and he wanted to tell him everything, but he wasn't sure where to start. "Is this about your date last night?"

"Date?"

"Whatever you want to call it." Will shrugged. "You know you'll find someone, right?"

"Yes." Bruno could hear the confusion in his voice, he was going to have to pull himself together until he figured out a solution. He didn't want to make things worse for Jo, but it sent shivers through his spine wondering how Jo was faring in his body.

***

Jo found the Sky F1 trailer without too much hassle and he was relieved to see Martin, he'd known him all his life and he was friends with his son, Alex. Although not in this body.

"Morning Bruno."

"Morning Martin." Jo went to reach for the tea bags and then realised that Bruno probably never drank tea, he'd be a coffee guy all the way. He personally couldn't stand coffee without sugar and milk, and he hoped that wouldn't look too suspicious.

Martin handed him a carton of almond milk and he eyed it suspiciously, but then something at the back of his mind said that he probably wouldn't want to eat or drink anything with lactose while he was in this body. He thanked Martin before adding three sugars and trying not to gag as he drank it. It wasn't unpleasant, and he was sure that he'd be able to tolerate it for… A few days? Weeks? Forever?

He felt dizzy with shock and he slumped down into a seat, wondering how he was going fix this. If it was even fixable.

Jo thought about telling Martin everything, there were things that he could tell him that only he and Alex knew about, but was there anything that he would be able to do to help him? Unlikely. So he carried on pretending to be Bruno, he didn't want to cause any more pain and confusion than he needed to.

*

Filming all the little bits of filler for the pre-race programme had been easy, and somehow doing it in Bruno's body had made it easier. Like wearing a mask.

And lunch, being able to eat without worrying about his weight was amazing, even if he had to avoid the cheese. Jo was getting used to it all when one of the producers came over and handed him some cards.

"The interview with Jolyon's been postponed until tomorrow. But Pascal's free this afternoon so we've swapped them around."

"Pascal?"

"Wehrlein? For the features on the rookies?" The producer wandered off leaving Jo looking confused.

Jo nodded and wondered if the reason the interviews had been moved was due to the fact that Bruno was most likely in his body. He shook his head as he read through the questions, it was going to be interesting to see Pascal's reaction.

*

"You've qualified and finished higher than your teammate in every race, how does that feel? Are you surprised by the results?" Jo smiled as he waited for Pascal's response, it wasn't a surprise that he'd done so well compared to his teammate, in fact, it would have been surprising if he wasn't consistently finishing higher up the order. Although that hadn't stopped them getting beaten every single year at Race of Champions.

"No. I came to do the best job that I can for the team." Pascal nodded, German efficiency, blunt and to the point. It was what Jo liked about him.

"Will we see you in Team Germany for Race of Champions this year?"

Pascal laughed and Jo hoped that wasn't going to be the case, although his own chances of being invited back were slim, his last win fading away into the distance as time kept marching forwards. "We'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure they'll want me back."

"You and Jo make a good team." Jo had no idea why he was saying that, he was meant to be going on to the next question but his curiosity was piqued and he wasn't going to have an opportunity like this again.

"We do. Even if we're not that successful at it! But at least we're good in an F1 car." Pascal smiled and Jo nodded, it was true, even if he couldn't drive a super-truck without crashing it, at least he was good at this.

"So are you two friends away from the track?" Jo asked, and he ignored all the funny looks, he'd never considered that they could be friends, although the time spent hanging out together at Race of Champions had always been fun.

"Not really, we're both so busy. But we could be." Pascal smiled and Jo felt himself smiling in return, he'd never thought of asking Pascal if he wanted to hang out, even though they got on so well. And they always had the fact that they were abysmal in anything other than their own race cars to laugh about.

He wondered what it would be like to drive a Formula E car, and it made him feel dizzy all over again.

*

The rest of the day was a blur of filming and wandering around the track. He was exhausted by the sheer number of people who had come up to talk to him, _Bruno_ , although almost everyone wanted to talk about his uncle.

Jo had read up on that era, and his dad had told him lots of stories of when Ayrton started racing, but it seemed a little sad that no-one asked about Formula E, or WEC, or any of Bruno's achievements. He felt a little sad for him, it was a shame that he had to live in the shadow of his uncle when he had a successful career of his own.

By the time he got back to Bruno's flat, having stopped at his own hotel room only to find that it was empty, he was ready to sleep for a week. But he had to get washed, the warm, sticky heat of Monaco had left him sweaty and he couldn't sleep like that.

He tried to avoid looking at certain bits of Bruno's body all day, but he wasn't sure that he could get washed with his eyes closed without slipping in the shower. Jo knew that he shouldn't be admiring Bruno's naked body in the mirror, but there was something fascinating about it, the tanned skin, the freckles that made him look distinguished, and his smooth chest, which Jo couldn't help but stroke because the skin was so soft. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Bruno's dick getting hard in front of him, it was fairly huge when it wasn't aroused but when it was erect it was some size.

 _No wonder the Williams was so slow, lugging this thing around_.

He couldn't tell if it was longer than his, although the fact that Bruno was completely shaved down there probably made it look longer, but it was definitely thicker and he could barely wrap his hand around it. Jo gave it a few strokes, before coming to his senses and standing in the shower, cold water running over him as he cooled his mind as well as his body. But his hard on showed no signs of losing interest.

Jo was sure that playing with another man's dick had to make him gay, even if he was the one inside him. Yes, definitely sounded gay. Although Bruno was an attractive guy, and nice, so maybe it was just a crush? Even straight guys thought Bruno was handsome, so it didn't mean he had to be gay. Did it?

How the hell was he twenty-five and not sure if he was straight or gay? This was what he got for spending all his time racing and not socialising. Although he'd realised that he had way more friends than he thought he had. Jo had always thought of himself as a bit of a loner, not many close friends, but when thinking about who he could turn to in times of need, he'd come up with quite a long list.

In the end he rationalised it all by figuring that Bruno would probably do the same, and that the only way he was getting some sleep tonight was if he got rid of this erection. He could worry about what this meant for his sexuality another time.

Jo rested his head against the tiles, unable to look at himself as he felt his orgasm shudder through his body, warm come spilling over his icy hand like fire.

He cleaned himself quickly, not wanting to have to repeat what he just did. Jo didn't even look at his reflection in the mirror, he was that ashamed of himself.

The clock showed that it had got late without him realising it, the fashion show must be over by now and he could head to his hotel, see if Bruno was there and try and figure things out. Like how to get their own bodies back.

***

Bruno had heard enough negative comments to last a lifetime. And the day wasn't even done yet. He was sitting while a woman fussed over him, doing his make up for the fashion show.

He heard someone say, "Palmer won't get another season in F1," and he felt déjà vu for all the times someone had said that about his own career.

Part of him wanted to scream 'I've got more points than Kevin' but he'd never seen Jo raise his voice and he was sure that creating ill-feeling between him and his teammate wouldn't be appreciated.

Bruno wondered if this was what it would have been like for him if he'd got a good drive in Formula One, if people would have said that he was always a pay driver, in the sport because of his uncle's name and nothing more, no matter how well he performed.

It seemed like an unwinnable situation, and for the first time in a long time, he was glad that he wasn't in Formula One anymore.

The evening went by in a blur, Bruno was just glad to have Carmen to chat to, although from the look of surprise on her face when he spoke Spanish to her, he was certain that Jo didn't speak a word.

He was glad when he finally got to slink away, no-one was really looking for Jo, which made it easier and he headed home, hoping that Jo would be there, for he couldn't think where else he could go if he was inside his body.

***

Jo heard a knock on the door and froze, should he answer it? But curiosity got the better of him and he peered out of the window to see his own body standing there.

He flung open the door and they both just stared at each other.

Jo motioned for Bruno to come in, and it was strange seeing a side of his body that he'd never seen before.

"I was just coming to find you," Jo said, as though what was happening was a regular occurrence.

Bruno slumped onto the sofa, he had no idea what was going on, or what had caused it. "This is like a nightmare, reliving my awful F1 career over again. Trying to ignore all the horrible things that people say."

Jo gave him a hug, his own stubble brushing against his cheek as he felt a tear, and he brushed it away with his thumb.

"Your brother and dad are lovely," Bruno said, as the tears came flooding in. "I miss that."

Jo held him tight, letting him cry it all out. He'd never considered himself lucky for having his family, they'd just always been there for him. Even if they did annoy him sometimes.

Bruno fell asleep in his arms and it seemed a crime to wake him, so they slept on the sofa. Jo hoping that when he woke up tomorrow he would be back in his own body.

*

"I'm still you." Bruno was staring at Jo's arms, wondering if they were going to be stuck like this forever.

Jo woke with a jolt, and when he realised the time panic coursed through his veins. "Fuck, I'm meant to have an interview – with you."

"It'll be fine." Bruno held Jo tight, stroking his hair as he tried to take a few deep breaths.

"Fine?" Jo wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up the rouse, he was starting to feel like he was going crazy, cracked under the pressure of racing this year.

"Yeah, we'll get through it." Bruno went to the kitchen to make coffee, offering Jo one which he accepted for no other reason than it seemed the easiest option.

*

"Tell them that you're sick. Esteban can race instead." Jo pleaded with Bruno but it was no use, he wanted another shot at Formula One, and he intended to use the opportunity that the universe had given him.

Jo thought about trying to warn the stewards, but there wasn't anything that he could tell them that wouldn't sound crazy, all it would have done was cause problems for them both. So he put on a smile and wandered into the paddock, hoping that the universe would sort everything out.

For as much as Bruno believed in heaven, Jo wasn't so sure, and he didn't really want to find out this soon.

***

Jo had held his breath for what seemed like hours. Practice three had gone okay, not as quick as Kevin but at least the car, and himself, were in one piece. He'd scraped through Q1 and now he was flying round the circuit trying to make it through into Q3.

"Palmer's on a flying lap, first sector's looking really quick but he's not managed to get it under control at turn ten." The announcer went quiet as Jo's car flew through the air, the sausage kerb had launched it.

Jo watched on the tv screen as Dany Kvyat's Red Bull appeared, he'd been just behind and now he was directly in the way of a car with no steering, driven by a man who'd retired from Formula one four years ago.

It was going to end badly.

"They've made contact, Kvyat's out of the car but Palmer's not moving…"

That was the last thing that Jo heard, his mind was spinning with the idea that his body might be damaged. What if he died? Would he be stuck in Bruno's body forever?

There was the crunch of metal and glass as he collapsed face first, his dizziness clearing as he slipped into unconsciousness.

***

Jo woke up in hospital with Will and his dad by his side.

"Are you okay?" Will squeezed his hand tighter and Jo felt tears well up in his eyes.

"I'm fine, I feel like me." He looked over his body and it was definitely his, with hair in all the right places.

"You might want to avoid Dany for the rest of the weekend." Will laughed, but Jo could hear the nervous edge to it, last time Jo had been in hospital things had been a lot worse than a little concussion.

"It's cool, we're friends."

"How are you friends with Dany?" Will gave him a funny look and Jo smiled, before realising that his entire face hurt when he did that.

"I told a _Star Trek_ joke once, and he laughed." Jo could hear his dad laughing but the neck brace meant that he couldn't turn to face him.

"The need to run a few more tests, and you have to stay overnight as a precaution." His dad was squeezing his hand and Jo felt calmer just knowing that he was there.

Jo breathed a sigh of relief, it may have been a crazy couple of days but at least everything was back to normal now.

*

The nurse had taken the neck brace off after the scans said that there wasn't any serious damage.

He'd spoken to his mum, even though dad must have already told her everything, and both his sisters, who thankfully said nothing about his date the other night. Although it seemed so long ago with everything that had happened.

His phone was inundated with messages, including a lot from Marcus asking why he'd been avoiding him all weekend. Jo knew why, but he was going to have to think of a good excuse since they always hung out at some point over the race weekends. There were also texts from Dany and Pascal, as well as a couple of the other guys from the paddock.

By the time visiting hours came around, and the media frenzy would have disappeared from the paddock, Jo found himself surrounded by friends and family, people who loved him.

He knew now that it didn't matter whether he was dating someone. That they wouldn't care if he was straight or gay. Or bi, how could he have not seen that?

_This is what you get when you spend your whole life racing, you fail to notice that you are bisexual, even though it is blatantly obvious when you look at all the data._

Jo laughed at how random a time it was figure it all out. But it didn't matter, because he had people who loved him no matter what. And from the way Marcus was looking at him, and holding his hand tight as he kissed the back of it, he was sure that Marcus loved him, was in love with him, just as he was in love with Marcus.

He wondered if he'd have ever figured it all out if it wasn't for this craziness, and in a way he was glad that it had happened.

The nurse came to usher everyone out of his room, and Marcus gave him a kiss on the cheek before whispering, "Jag älskar dig." Which had Kevin giving them a funny look, it was obviously similar in Danish, but Jo didn't care who knew, not any more.

***

The next day Jo woke up to Marcus sitting beside him, even though it clearly wasn't visiting hours.

"How did you get in here?" Jo asked, and Marcus just laughed.

"Not happy to see me?" Marcus smiled, holding Jo's hand tight as he leant in for a kiss. It sent the little heart rate monitor into overdrive as Marcus' kisses got more and more passionate in a bid to make the machine beep faster.

"I'm always happy to see you," Jo said, and he couldn't believe that it had taken him all this time to figure it out, to see that he had so many people who loved him and he suddenly felt a little sad for Bruno, who was looking out for him?

Jo tried to sit up but it was awkward. "You're going to have to take it easy for a few days," Marcus said, and the way that he bit his lip said exactly what his idea of taking easy would entail.

"I need to talk to Bruno Senna," Jo said, "I can't explain why. I just need to."

"He's here as well," Marcus said, "He collapsed at the same time as you had your accident." Marcus helped him up, he was still connected to an IV and some other monitors that were next to him. Jo looked at it all carefully before pressing the mute button on the machines, and lifting the IV bag up and handing it to Marcus so that he could hold it.

"Let's go." Jo followed Marcus down the hall, Bruno had only been a couple of rooms away from him this whole time.

Marcus had led Jo to a seat, and hung the IV bag on the same pole that was holding Bruno's. He had retreated to wait by the door, without being asked to, but he could obviously sense Jo's hesitation about having him there. Although Jo didn't mind if Marcus knew about all this, he was one of the few people he felt that he would be able to talk to about it, but he wasn't sure if Bruno would feel the same way.

Bruno had cuts and bruises all around his eyes, and Jo remembered how it felt to have his, _Bruno's_ , glasses crunch against his face, it was the last thing that he felt before he woke up in hospital.

Jo brushed Bruno's hair away from his face, soft black curls that hid his freckles, although the bruising was doing a good job of that. He saw Bruno blink a few times and he was sure that he couldn't see without his glasses, but they would be painful to wear right now, so Jo just leant in closer, hoping that Bruno could see him.

"Jo?" Bruno looked confused and Jo took his hand. "I'm sorry for not listening to you, I just wanted to race again."

"It's all okay, we're both fine and everything's worked itself out." Jo held Bruno's hand a little tighter, stroking the side of it with his thumb in the hope that it would calm him.

"I thought that I was all alone, that people only wanted to be friends with me because of my uncle." Bruno sniffled and Jo wanted to wipe the tears from his eyes but it would only cause him more pain. "But then I woke up here and there were friends surrounding me, my girlfriend holding my hand and I realised that just because I don't have a lot of family close by, it doesn’t mean that I'm alone."

Jo nodded, he felt tears running down his face, they'd both felt alone even though they were surrounded by people that loved them. It was just a little annoying that it had taken something so drastic for them to realise it. But none of that mattered now, all that mattered was that they were both unhurt.

*

Jo had snuck back to his room, with Marcus' help, just in time to be discharged from the hospital, and Marcus had taken him back to the hotel, he kept looking at him with little concerned glances, but Jo just kept kissing him until it was all forgotten about. He didn't want to think any more and Marcus had the perfect solution.

Marcus had made sure he was comfy, lying out naked on the bed, his body black and blue from the bruises and Marcus set about kissing all of the skin that wasn't hurt, which left surprisingly little of him, but thankfully the bits that were uninjured were all the bits that Jo wanted kissed.

Jo tried not to groan out loud as Marcus kissed his way along his thigh, working his way up to his hard cock, the only bit of him that was purple and not bruised. He let out a pained moan, the sheer pleasure overwhelming him.

"Are you okay?" Marcus asked, and when he saw the grin on Jo's face he knew that he wasn't in pain.

"Yes." Jo gasped, he wasn't sure he could manage much more than yes, no, please, right now, although he wasn't going to need anything more than that.

Marcus wrapped his lips around the tip of his cock, sucking away as Jo tried not to cry out in pain and worry him, but it was so spectacular that he was gripping at the sheets as his back arched off the bed, gagging Marcus as he came, writhing in pleasure as the adrenaline rush soothed away all of his aches and pains, allowing Marcus to cuddle in next to him as they dozed off to sleep.

Jo knew that he should tell him what he'd figured out. "I love you."

"I love you too."

*****

After that weekend Bruno and Jo ended up friends, and no-one quite understood why, although watching them both talk about all things geeky it made perfect sense.

Their lives seemed to follow a similar pattern, they both raced for many years to come, watching the end of petrol powered cars, and the rise of all things electric. After Bruno retired, and Jo was racing a little less, they ended up hosting a tv show together.

Jo's wedding ring glinted under the studio lights, it was exactly the same as Marcus' and although they weren't out to the whole world when they were in Formula One, enough people had known about them, and supported them that it hadn't been too much of an issue.

Bruno had come to the wedding, with his now wife, their own wedding equally understated and small. Which was them all over, it was part of the reason that they were such good friends. Although no-one would ever know the real reason.

But that didn't matter, all that mattered was the fact that they had people who loved them unconditionally. 

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
